Charlotte lands over 300 jobs as life insurance giant plans $12M expansion
Pacific Life will invest $12.3 million to open a Charlotte office and promises to create several hundred jobs, Gov. Josh Stein’s office said Tuesday.
The Fortune 500 insurance company’s expansion plan will create 301 jobs with $176,250 annual salary for new positions, Stein’s office said. The average wage in Mecklenburg County is $86,830. Hiring for the new roles will be over the next five years, according to Pacific Life.
Pacific Life will occupy three floors at 68,000 square feet at the Queensbridge Collective at 1111 S. Tryon St. Full occupancy is expected in 2028, Stein’s office said. Pacific Life has temporarily leased 25,000-square-feet of office space near Queensbridge until the project is complete, the company said.
Based in Newport Beach, California, Pacific Life offers life insurance, annuity and employee benefits, as well as investment services. This will be the third U.S. location for the nearly 160-year-old company. Pacific Life has more than 4,500 employees companywide.
Roles at the company’s East Coast hub include actuarial, finance, technology and human resources, the city of Charlotte said. Several positions, including technology jobs, do not require a college degree.
For its Charlotte investment, Pacific Life will receive $5.5 million in state tax incentives over 12 years based on meeting incremental job creation and investment targets.
The city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County incentive packages for this project will be determined at upcoming public meetings.
“Charlotte’s national reputation as one of the nation’s top financial services centers continues to attract great companies to our state,” Stein said in a statement.
During the past year, Charlotte and Mecklenburg County have collaborated on several economic development projects to support relocations and expansions, including Citigroup, AssetMark and SoFi Technologies. These efforts have created more than 2,400 jobs and $215.3 million in capital investment, according to the city.
About Queensbridge Collective
Pacific Life signed an 11-year lease at Queensbridge Collective, the company said.
Queensbridge Collective is a $700 million mixed-use development featuring 42 stories for apartments retail and restaurants and a 43-story office tower above more than 300 apartments on the border of the South End and uptown.
Last month, North Carolina’s largest law firm Moore and Van Allen signed a 15-year lease to become an anchor tenant in the office tower.
The framework for the first tower was completed in February after breaking ground in May 2023. Construction on the second tower begins this year.
The two-tower project, by builder Riverside Investment and Development and its partners Woodfield Development and PGIM Real Estate, is expected to be completed by 2028. It is now more than 85% pre-leased “before even beginning vertical construction,” Joe Franco, senior vice president and head of office leasing at CBRE in Charlotte said in a news release.
The development on about 2.75 acres is at the former locations of Midnight Diner and Uptown Cabaret.
This story was originally published October 28, 2025 at 12:31 PM.
